Posts tagged “music”

“New deals on the way, bitch!”

Lil Pump is newly independent, and if anyone wants to sign him, they’re going to have to make a generous offer. The Miami rapper’s Warner Bros. contract was recently voided, with Pump able to slip out of his deal due to signing as a minor (he’s currently 17). When a TMZ cameraman caught up with him in New York, Pump claimed he was looking for at least $15 million to sign another deal.

“New deals on the way, bitch!” he said. “If you ain’t got 15 [million], don’t talk to me, bitch! I don’t want no meetings unless you talkin’ 15 and up!”

Pump is said to have received a nearly $350,000 advance on his original Warner contract, but with the platinum-selling, top 3 Billboard hit “Gucci Gang” under his belt, he’s looking for a much bigger payday for his next venture. The initial report from Hits Daily Double stated that Pump’s team was looking for $8 million per album, while he’d been getting offers that sat in the $3-4 million per album range.

Both Gucci Mane and DJ Khaled have expressed interest in signing Pump. However, the rapper did not share any specifics as to who’s approached him. “I’ve talked to a lot of people,” he said.

In 2017, Pump released his self-titled debut project, which launched at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. It sold 46,000 equivalent album units in its first week.

Nelly has officially filed a countersuit against the woman who falsely accused him of rape.

Well it’s official. After we heard rumors last month that Nelly was going to countersue the woman who falsely accused him of rape, the St. Louis rapper did just that on Friday in Seattle. TMZ reports that Nelly filed the suit Friday, and claims that the accuser came onto him first, before lying about their sexual encounter to get him arrested.

Nelly’s suit states thatMonique Greene made her way into his VIP section of the nightclub where he was headlining, and started coming onto him hard. Nelly says he then invited her to join him and others back on his tour bus. He says they had consensual sex on the tour bus, and Greene only got mad when one of his performers, which he told police was a backup dancer, entered the room to use the bathroom. At that point, Nelly says Greene got “aggressive and disruptive” and was asked to leave then. Greene called for an Uber and then called police to report the alleged incident which would eventually lead to Nelly’s arrest for rape.

nellFollowing his arrest though, Greene and her attorney made several statements on the Internet that falsely accused him of raping her. He says the statements were a clear and malicious attempt to get him prosecuted, which ultimately didn’t work.

In addition, Nelly says her claims cost him a lot of money too. He was forced to cancel a scheduled show and also damaged his reputation in the music business.

Atlanta rapper Gucci Mane was again in court Tuesday, this time facing federal gun possession charges.

The local hip hop star, whose real name is Radric Davis, was arraigned before a federal judge on two counts of gun possession by a convicted felon.

Davis, 33, is accused of displaying two different loaded handguns and acting erratically twice in September, both incidents occurring within days of one another, prosecutors said.

“We are actively reviewing the discovery (of evidence federal and local authorities have in the case),” Davis’ attorney Drew Findling said.

According to the federal indictments, on Sept. 12, Davis had a Taurus 45-caliber handgun and eight rounds of ammunition. Days later on Sept. 14, the indictment claims he was in possession of a Glock 40-caliber handgun and 11 rounds of ammunition.

If convicted on each count, Davis faces up to 20 years in federal prison and fines up to $500,000, court officials said.

He has been convicted twice, once in Fulton County in 2005 for assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault, and again in Dade County, Fla., that same year for possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana, according to court documents.

Davis will be detained until his trial, but it is unclear whether DeKalb County Jail officials will relinquish custody to federal officials. He has been in the DeKalb facility since a Sept. 14 arrest.

Fulton County authorities have a hold on Davis for a probation violation from a March arrest on assault charges.

His next federal court hearing is scheduled for early January, Findling said.

My Beat Website(www.mybeatzbang.com) Is Up And Running.You Will Find On The Site Some Of The Hottest Hiphop. Dirtysouth, And Rnb Beats On The Planet. Non Exclusive Prices Range From $19.99 T0 $24.99…And Exclusive (Full Rights) Prices Range From $100.00 To $499.99…Older Beats Prices Will Drop As The Year 2014 Set In.Some Beats Will Be(Non exclusive $10.00 And Exclusive $80.00 to $100.00,Some Old Beats Will Be Marked As “Free Beats” Or “Free Download”.Beats That Are Brought “Exclusively” Will Be Marked “AS SOLD” Or Removed Off Websites.Beats Formats Are In Wave, Mp3,And Tracked Out Files Along With Contracts.

Non Exclusive Terms:

Non-Exclusive License Agreement:

-Sell, distribute, perform, and broadcast (TV, radio, internet) any songs you make with your beat-Synchronize your beat with visual media (movies, TV, videos, video games, websites).-Sell 200,000 copies. Make an unlimited amount of profit. All royalty free.-Usable for life.-Producer still owns full copyright for the beat-Must display Producers credits on CD/ Cover or Song Title or Video, can be written or verbal.

Exclusive Rights Terms:

Exclusive License Agreement:

-Sell, distribute, perform, and broadcast (TV, radio, internet) any songs you make with your beat-Synchronize your beat with visual media (movies, TV, videos, video games, websites).-Sell an unlimited number of copies. Make an unlimited amount of profit. All royalty free.-Usable for life.-You are the sole Owner-You own the copyright-Must display Producers credits on CD/ Cover or Song Title or Video, can be written or verbal.

Conspiracy theories about musicians getting famous, rich and influential thanks to some dark powers are nothing new. As the music itself, these myths and theories are changing through the years and they become more modern – newspapers used to write about Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page practising black magic in a Scottish mansion where Aleister Crowley used to live, but now they are writing about rappers attending secret Illuminati meetings involving a huge owl statue, strange rituals and creation of New World Order. I have not gone into details of these conspiracy theories as I do not believe them, to be honest, but the articles and comments on this topic let me conclude that it is a great material for a Hollywood thriller. I decided to take a closer look at the hip-hop and popular music through the prism of conspiracy theories and describe the things I see, to describe this dark world where the gap between a vampire and the Witch king is just one sacrifice. Of course, my main source of information was YouTube and I used it with a foil hat on my head, namely, by using Google Chrome incognito mode.

The first conclusion I can make after starting my research is that there is contradictious information on which rappers are the members of Illuminati. Whether or not the artist is a member of the secret society can be clarified by looking at artist’s lyrics, videos and CD covers. You can draw a line in the hip-hop community between the artists that are against the Illuminati and the artists that are members of this secret society. If you cross this line and enter the dark side, the only exit is death – there is no other way out. The fight against the Illuminati started in the 90s, the golden era of hip-hop, when rap reached a wider audience and rappers started business (and other kinds of) relationships with influential white millionaires and billionaires. Of course, the appearance of money and influence in this street culture gave rappers the opportunity to improve their status in the industry. But there is a crime behind every wealth. As the Illuminati are using mysticism, ancient pagan rituals and occultism in order to get power, the artists had to (and still have to) make sacrifices to Satan to earn the favour of the secret society. One of the first rappers becoming a victim of dark rituals of the Illuminati was Eazy-E.

N.W.A. became popular and famous thanks to the influence of Jerry Heller – one of the founders of Ruthless Records and the Illuminati subordinate. Eazy-E, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre signed agreements with Satan to get the fame, influence and gangster image they longed for, but later it turned out that they had to sign this document not only with ink but also with their blood. Of course, the information might be misleading, but everything points to the fact that Eazy-E was Ice Cube’s sacrifice for the Illuminati – Ice Cube released his album “Lethal Injection” a year before the death of Eazy-E (he died of AIDS). Ice Cube exchanged the life of Eazy-E for popularity and image – the Illuminati are still successfully covering the fact that he is gay. Another reference pointing at Ice Cube’s fault can be seen in the movie “Boyz n the hood” where the character played by Ice Cube shoots a person bearing a great resemblance to Eazy-E. Ice Cube’s further career shows more references of his connection to the Illuminati, for example, in the video of his collaboration “Fuck Dying” with Korn (also well-known Satanists). Controversial information has emerged in recent years on whether or not Ice Cube is still a member of the Illuminati. The things raising this question are his shrinking popularity and the small number of album copies sold, but as I mentioned before – the only way out of the Illuminati is death, so make your own conclusions.

Of course, the most popular Illuminati saga is related to 2pac who was killed a year after Ice Cube’s sacrifice. It is interesting that Snoop Dogg knew that 2pac would die of a violent death several days before it happened – in MTV interview on September 4, 1996 2pac was speaking about the war between East Coast and West Coast and media, while Snoop Dogg, who was standing next to him, was silent and looked depressed. As we all know, Snoop Dogg got into the game thanks to Dr. Dre, and his way to the Illuminati is described in video of “Murder Was The Case”. The video contains several symbols like a crow, demon with Reptilian eyes and many other things that point to dark energy. In this song Snoop Dogg honestly tells that he sells his soul to get tangible wealth.

In his short lifetime, 2pac became one of the main representatives of the West Coast and the king of this coast, but he had to be replaced as he did not abide to the rules set by the Illuminati. One of the main reasons why 2pac was killed was his knowledge – he was a Christian who realised that the poor people are getting oppressed in America and he was ready to fight for their rights. 2pac was killed, thus giving the servant of the Illuminati and the Masons, Dr. Dre, opportunity to replace 2pac as the new king of West Coast. The situation with Notorious B.I.G. was similar – unlike 2pac, he played according to the rules of the Illuminati, but only to the degree where he could get enough money. When Biggie became the king of East Coast, he had to die so that Jay-Z, 33rd Degree Mason, could replace him. This explanation of events is supported by an innocent interview with Snoop Dogg where the lean rapper tells that 2pac and Notourious B.I.G. were the sacrifice so that hip-hop could continue its development. If this evidence is not enough, I am not sure what else could convince the sceptics.

After the death of industry’s greatest names in the 90s, there was a relatively peaceful period of time when anti-Illuminati rappers were not killed, rather their careers were ended. Taking into account what happened to their predecessors, it’s a pretty good outcome. At the turn of the century the industry was full of the Illuminati followers – all the greatest names including Eminem were members of the occultism group. It looked like after 2pac’s death there was no one who would be able to fight Satan’s influence in music industry. Jay-Z with the members of RocAFella label showed pyramids in their videos (yes, that’s not a diamond they are showing, it’s a pyramid – everyone knows that you show a diamond in a completely different way), Puff Daddy earned countless millions (you can’t do that if you are not a member of the Illuminati), while Dr. Dre went on “Up In Smoke” tour with his crew where one of the main features was a giant skull smoking marijuana. Maybe the solution must be found within the Illuminati. In the first decade of 21st century the Illuminati rappers started to realize the consequences of their dark actions – Satan wanted more sacrifices and this time they were rappers’ family members and closest friends. This unexpected turn of events made some artists seriously think about their choice and more and more rappers joined the anti-Illuminati, like Dead Prez and Immortal Technique, who were ready to fight against the dark powers.

One of the last famous victims of the Illuminati is Pimp C because he told the truth in his songs (like his predecessors) and invited down south artists to unite. In one of his songs Pimp C mentions such things as “48 Laws Of Power” and “Art Of War” as well as quotes from the Bible, for example, “behold the Pale horse”. Apparently this rapper who was willing to tell the truth to his audience was not convenient for the Illuminati so Satan’s secret society got rid of him. The doom of Lil Boosie was similar – before he was arrested, in one of his songs the rapper mentioned that he believes in Jesus, not in Barack Obama. At the same time the Illuminati is joined by several well-known names. Of course, one of the best known Satanists is Lil Wayne. In his lyrics Lil Wayne propagates everything that is forbidden in the Bible – alcohol, sex, drugs and irregular behaviour. There is a theory than Lil Wayne is a Martian, not a human being. The rapper has mentioned this fact in several songs and he has 2 albums the name of which contains Lil Wayne’s statement that he’s not a human being. In several of his songs, the rapper mentions a space ship in which he will leave this planet. Apparently, the Illuminati are against it so the secret society punished him for an attempt to do that and Lil Wayne had to spend a year in prison. In his hit “Mirrors” Lil Wayne expresses his sorrow for joining the Illuminati and reveals that he is just acting cheerful. Actually he wants to get back to God (or back to Mars).

Another world known rapper regretting his connection to the Illimunati is Eminem. By getting in the rap game with the help of Dr. Dre he got no other option but to join the Illuminati. In one of his songs Eminem reveals that he has sold his soul to Satan and is not going to get it back. The turn of events took place in 2006 when the Illuminati took away Eminem’s best friend – rapper Proof. In his newest songs Eminem notes that he knew about the murder of Proof and now he regrets it – if Eminem could go back in time, he would act differently. Eminem informed about leaving the Illuminati in 2010, in his album “Recovery” and now he has joined Lupe Fiasco, Immortal Technique and Young Buck to fight against the secret society. Eminem is also trying to save his colleagues from the deadly grasp of the Illuminati by collaborating with Rihanna, Lil Wayne and other artists. As ironic as it sounds, it looks like the biggest damage to the Illuminati will be done by society’s existing and former members. But artists like Eminem, Lil Wayne and Lupe Fiasco have a strong position – while they were just waking up for their satanic sleep and starting to realize that they are just puppets in the hands of the Illuminati, such artists as Jay-Z continued to climb up the ladder of Satanist hierarchy.

In 2009 Jay-Z released his album Blueprint 3 thus declaring that he is now the 33rd Degree Mason which is the highest level one could reach in the secret Satanist societies. Jay-Z is currently the most powerful and influential member of the Illuminati in music industry. He is one of the persons ensuring that the Illuminati propaganda gets into the mass media. One of Jay-Z’s most powerful weapons is the Illuminati princess Rihanna who is openly propagating sex, masochism and drugs. It is evidenced by countless videos, interviews and parts of studio sessions. In one of such videos Jay-Z is declaring that he has not read the Bible, while in another one the Illuminati priest can be seen in a sweatshirt with Aleister Crowley’s quote “do what thou wilt”. Of course, one of the clearest evidence of Jay-Z’s connection to the Satanists is his song “Lucifer”. I am not even going into details – the Illuminati handshake, “Run This Town” and “On To The Next One” videos and other things as you can get more information on youtube.com.

The Illuminati appeared in the scene in the 90s and took over the hip-hop industry. In the beginning of 20th century the secret society was controlling hip-hop artists by sacrificing people and shutting the mouths that were speaking bad things about this society by using mass media and NY and LA police officers. The Illuminati are against Christianity and Christian values. They propagate sexual freedom, independence from God and irresponsible lifestyle. Now, when we are entering the third decade of the Illuminati rule, it looks like the Illuminati will have to suffer some hard blows as rappers nowadays are aware of their value. Eminem and Lil Wayne are currently the biggest names that go against the Illuminati industry ruled by Jay-Z, however, it is still not clear whether they are going to survive this fight. How are we going to know the course of the fight? We have to continue to carefully watch music videos, listen to lyrics (remember – when the song contains words “God” or “Jesus Christ”, the artist actually is referring to Satan), pay attention to CD covers and interviews.

Now I want to drink a beer, take a shower and somehow get rid of all this useless information that I got in my head while writing this article. It’s a total bullshit. However, the craziest/most interesting aspect is the discussions in the comment section, not the video about the Illuminati. People are arguing about who are the members of this society, telling that Jesus is the one and only saviour and they are actively “fighting” for the truth that no one wants to hear. It’s very interesting how “facts” are just phrases taken out of the context. It seems like those people are dreaming of culture of the 50s and education in some Christian school. At least they have a false sense of “understanding” things and knowing something others do not know. It’s a valuable thing.

Hip hop has been with us for over 20 years. It has diversified greatly during this course

of time as artists have explored, inventively, with sounds and rhythm. This article will keep it simple. My goal is to give you what you need to know to make beats that are immediately identifiable as hip hop and show you how to start your own process of sound and beat creation in your own studio. I will walk you through standard hip hop beat construction and give you some sound development and production tips. Once you have the basics down you should take the format into your own hands and make beats conforming to your own artistic vision. At least one of the reasons for hip hop’s popularity is that the rules are flexible, open ended, and allow for great expression.

The basic elements of the beat early in the construction process. The first 8 bars will be the verse and the second will become the chorus. Note how this beat has both MIDI and Audio Loops together. Listen tracks 1 and 2 for bars 5-12 of this 16 bar example

Breakdown of a Hip Hop Song

There are two basic parts to a typical hip hop song: The Beat and the Vocals. Each consists of several tracks. While this article focuses on the construction of beats, lets lead off with a description of all the elements of a hip hop song so you can see how the beat fits in.

What are Beats?

This is the most important term to understand in Hip Hop construction, cause if you don’t know it, you’ll never understand what people are talking about. The Beat is basically, the whole song minus the vocals. It usually includes the following:

The Beat can be long or short. In its shortest form it is 8 bars. If short, it is usually looped over and over again, for as long as the vocalist wants. If long, it may be comprised of different parts for the verse and chorus and may add an introduction, a break, and an ending. Often, the HH song follows classic pop form of Intro (8 bars). Verse (8-16 bars) Chorus (8 bars) Verse (8-16 bars) Chorus (8 bars) Break (2-8 bars) Verse or Chorus (8-16 bars) then ends in a fade out. This structure, called the arrangement, of course, is not written in stone. It can be modified to suit the piece at hand.

What do the vocal tracks consist of in a Hip Hop song?

1. Main vocal: The main vocalist performs the rap 2. Second Vocal: Some songs may have a guest vocal or second vocal that takes a verse 3. Background Vocals: Are often created to give a sense that a whole group is participating 4. Overdubbed vocals: During the chorus and at other parts that the artist wishes to emphasize, the main vocal may be doubled, tripled or even quadrupled

We’ll get to vocals in a later article.

Elements of a Hip Hop Beat

Lets dissect a basic hip hop beat and talk about the 4 basic elements I described above.

1. MIDI Drum patterns or audio drum loops

This is the “core” of the song so you should take great care with what you are laying down here. There are two basic methods here and you may use either or both in the same song.

a) Audio Loops This is the simplest way to proceed. Most sequencers come with a selection of drum loops and these can be used, edited, re-grooved and effected. Audio can be tweaked to give you the sound you want. Loops can be time stretched and compressed. You can add effects with plugins. Perhaps the more creative tweaks one can do is in an audio editor like Recycle or Sound Forge. Here you can destructively (meaning you are actually altering the sound file) modify parts, even single hits, within the audio loop.

b) MIDI drum patterns While this method is slightly more complicated, if usually gives more exacting and easy-to alter results. Here the keyboard, control pad surface or electronic drum kit triggers samples for each drum. The samples may reside in a software sampler, synth, hardware MPC type sampler or even as an instrument in some applications. In all cases the drums are a pattern of MIDI notes that correspond to sampled hits. In your sequencer this may be on a grid, dedicated drum pattern editor or piano roll editor.

You can use loops or MIDI or both. It’s common in Hip Hop, as well as other forms of electronica, to have more than one drum loop playing at once. As long as they work together and enhance the groove, its fine. Hip Hop artists have been very creative with drum tracks and our ears are accustomed to great variance with unusual timing offsets. Drums in hip hop are allowed to go places sonically that other genres will not.

2. A Bassline

You can find basslines in audio form already made out for you, but it is often better to use MIDI, given you have some decent bass samples, a good soft synth for bass or a hardware synth with decent analog emulations. Why use MIDI? Bass audio loops do not transpose easily and may leave warbly audio artifacts when you do. An analog or digital synthesizer, however, can create a fresh low waveform in real time. Good bass sounds for hip hop come from a variety of synthesizers. Old analog Mono synths and their software and hardware emulations are the first place to go. Basslines are rarely complex in typical hip hop, but are thick and low and usually have a sub-bass element, brought out by filtering and overcompression. Many, though not all, classic HH basses rely on a low pass filter with resonance, which is the most standard filter found in analog synthesis. This kind of filter removes the high frequencies and fattens the low end. That gives you a muffy, puffed up bottom yet allows the vocals to pass right over in the mix, keeping them clear and distinct. Some HH basses emphasize the high frequencies rather than the low, leaving the kick drum to carry the low end entirely. And of course a real bass can be used as well. Keep it simple, repeatable.

Alesis Micron 37-Key Analog Modeling Synth

The Micron boasts the same sound engine as the acclaimed Alesis Ion in a compact 3-octave keyboard, offering breakthrough analog realism, high-resolution control, and tremendous value.

Native Instruments PRO53 (Macintosh and Windows)

3. Supporting Orchestration

While the term “orchestration” may sound complex, it is really a simple concept. To orchestrate is to select instruments that “go together”. Hip Hop and rap began with orchestration that was sparse and often minimalist. Instruments are chosen often more for their impact on the groove than for their melodic capabilities. How do you know what instruments to select? You do it by trial and error basically. But I find it helpful to use a “metaphor” of other ensembles when coming up with my own orchestrations. For instance, using an RnB metaphor, you might add a smooth electric piano, funked up jazz guitar strums, some nasty horn hits, congas, maybe a vibraphone. You visualize the old RnB band in your mind and use that vision as the metaphor for deciding your orchestration. A “symphonic” metaphor may have you bring in heavy string sections, gongs, timpani, orchestral percussion, glockenspiels. A “downtown session” metaphor might include studio brass, clean guitars, standup bass. A “club” metaphor might have a drunken crowd and musicians that play sloppily. Ask yourself: Who is in this band? What are they thinking? Where are they playing? In a club, on the street, India, or in your homies basement?

4. Dubs and snips

Hip hop and rap arose when sampling took off around 1986. With sampling, there was finally an easy way rip audio material off of vinyl (and CDs), which is exactly what the early artists did. Drum beats, record scratches and surface noise, string, brass and full orchestra hits, sax riffs, guitar chords, electric piano chords were sampled as “one shots”, a term popularized by Akai, were laid out on the keyboard and put right in the midi pattern with the kick, snare, hats and other drum hits. Today you can buy royalty free sample sets that give you all the dubs and snips you want, though people are still going to capture snips from the records of the past to get that subliminal recognition. Today’s audio editing and multi channel samplers allow separate channels and separate effects for dubs and snips. Since audio was added to our sequencers we can now drag samples straight to an audio track and give each its own custom treatment with plugins. This has made the often hard work of editing samples to a rather easy process. Dubs and snips of audio dramatically add character, time and space to the composition, just like flipping through a collection of old photographs. Its a quick abstract reference to another time and place, that ideally fits with your metaphor.

Tools of the Trade: Samplers, Synths and Software instruments

Hardware samplers have been making Hip Hop beats since the beginning. Those outfitted with “pads”, like the MPC and MV8000, are convenient to use. However, software samplers, like Kontakt 2, Battery, Halion, Gigastudio are just as good and can offer more flexibility if your computer is strong enough to run one inside a sequencer. You can use a control pad surface like the Akai MPD16 to give you some hardware control over your software.

Hardware or software synthesizers can be used for constructing basslines and other elements of orchestration. Having a variety of sound sources is ideal. Vintage synths, in real or emulated form, are great resources. In addition to the obviously needed analog synths, old FM synths like the DX7 and its offspring, cheap Casios, and other digital synths can work well for hip hop elements. Some artists like to use dinky sounding cheap synths for short little blippy sounds. However, not everything can be lo-fi. It pays to have a modern beautiful sounding sample library for strings, brass and other instruments that you want to put out there front and center. A workstation quality synth like a Fantom or Motif can do many of these quality sampled sounds. Perhaps an underestimated synth for hip hop is the Alesis Fusion.

Tweak: The MPC series samplers have been used in Hip Hop production since the very beginning. The later MPCs such as the 4000 (above) the 2500 and 1000 offer the convenience of importing samples over a USB connection to your computer. A powerful alternative to the MPC 4000 is the Roland MV8000, shown above with an optional video display.

Native Instruments Kontakt (Macintosh and Windows) No other software or hardware sampler offers such a comprehensive set of features, so much flexibility and performance or such a high of compatibility. From authentic library playback of virtually any format to the intuitive creation of new instruments, from profound sound design to lively and dynamic surround sound mixes – KONTAKT 2 opens the doors to creativity.

Native Instruments Battery Sampling Software (Macintosh and Windows) BATTERY 2 is the ultimate drum sampler for creating and fine-tuning all of the percussive elements in any production. With a streamlined design for fast and intuitive control, generate perfect drums and percussion every time. From the smoothest grooves to the most rugged rhythms – BATTERY 2 is the professional choice.

Akai MPD16 USB MIDI Pad Control Surface Expanding on the legacy of the legendary MPC series, Akai Professional introduces the MPD16 USB/MIDI Pad Control Surface. The MPD16 is a self-contained unit that connects via USB and/or MIDI to computers and sound engines such as the new Akai Z4 and Z8 samplers, which include drum program set-ups as well as the standard keyboard-assigned programming.

Assembling and Arranging the Beat

Assembling the beat refers to the process creating tracks and filling in the orchestration, while Arranging the beat refers to how these tracks change over time from verse to chorus from the start to the end of the song. Assembling the Basic Beat, step by step

1. You can assemble the elements in any order you want, but I tend to work the kick drum track first, then the claps, hats, and snares into a good solid 8 bar pattern.

2. Then I will put on the bass. Just pick one that has some girth. Later on you will have to find one that fits perfectly with the song.

3. Before going any further, it makes sense to try different grooves and find one you can commit to for the entire beat. Listen for a “lock”. That’s when you hear something that is so cool you know it can drive the song. There are lots of tricks here. Get to know how your sequencer can use a quantized swing template. Check out my notes on Groove considerations near the end.

4. Then you can add supporting orchestration. Remember, think of a metaphor for your ensemble.

5. Next, copy the 8 bar grooved pattern with its bassline and other elements to make it a 16 bar pattern. You might drop out one of the orchestrated elements for the first 8 bars so it only plays during the second 8 bars.

6. Then, copy the first 8 bar drum pattern to the third 8 bars an start developing a chorus. You might replace drums with others. Replace or alter the bass. Keep the kick but change the snare and claps, adding perhaps a different effect. Now add new supporting orchestration to the chorus.

Arranging the Beat

The “arrangement” of a song is the fitting together of verses, choruses, breaks, intros and endings. The HH beat is no different. While it can be as simple as a single 4 bar drum pattern repeated forever, we are going to assume, for this article, that you want to go all the way.

Take a look at the picture below. You can see where I copied and pasted sequences, and at which point of the beat I added and subtracted parts. Again, this is just a guide, not all songs work this way. You make these decisions based on what you feel the song needs as it plays. As you refine the beat in subsequent passes, you ask yourself: Is that part too long? to short? does it need something else? what would make it really cool?

The full beat is arranged into form, with a 4 bar intro and fade at the end. All I have to do is mix and add vocals for a full hip hop production.

1. We will start the arrangement with a 16 bar verse and an 8 bar chorus.

2. Highlight all 24 bars, copy, and paste to the next 24 bars. So now you have Verse/Chorus/Verse/Chorus.

3. You can stop there and repeat it again, or you can develop a break for the next 8-16 bars. A break is an “alternate chorus”. As before, you can keep the kick line and change everything else if you want, add or remove elements, possibly even remove all the elements except for the kick and give space for a massive vocal rendering.

4. After the break, its logical to either go to another verse or to the third chorus which may continue till you fade it out. Your song will tell you which way to go.

5. Adding on an introduction. You can choose 2, 4 or 8 bars here. It can be a short as a drum flam, or a 4-8 bar acapella vocal, just the instruments with no drums; just the drums with no instruments. But it should borrow sounds and phrases from the body of the beat. I like to choose the most interesting part of what i have constructed, insert it in front of verse one, then modify it by dropping elements or adding them. This is the hook and it makes your listener want to keep listening.

6. The structure of the beat is done. Play it through and smooth out the elements that need smoothing. After all, at this point it’s still kind of crude. You may need to add some fills to the drums and do some general processing to make the beat sound true but don’t get bogged in processing yet.

7. If you like it, it’s time to put on the vocal tracks. You may have to tweak the arrangement with the vocalist. This may require shortening or extending a verse or chorus. Not a big deal as you have all your building blocks in place.

8. If the vocals succeed with the beat, then the arrangement is done. You then you move to editing and processing, where you put each track under a microscope and fix bad loop points, change a few things in midi loops so they don’t sound exactly the same (unless that is what you want). Try out compressors on the elements that need to be on top of the mix. Tweak and tune the kick drum. Start looking for a better bass or tweak the one you have and as the image starts to gel in a pleasing way, start the mixing process

There is some freedom when arranging hip hop, but its not a wide open universe. You can shrink parts to 4, even 2 bars for effect, but the main body of the vocal should be in an 8-16 bar verse, otherwise the listener can get lost. You can also make the first verse 8 bars and the second 16. Sometimes a shorter 8 bar verse can keep things moving where 16 would make eyes roll with ensuing boredom. Heh, if you are bored listening to it you can bet your last dollar your audience will not be listening at all. As in rock, pop, jazz and other forms, as you transition from verse to chorus there should be some fill action on the drums, perhaps a dub or snip added, as the listener needs these signposts to follow the song.

From funk lords like Bootsy Collins to hard-nosed sports figures like Pete Rose, Cincinnati has birthed some of the most remembered names in American culture. Do not be surprised when you see ‘Nati-bred rapper Street Lotto name added to the city’s impressive lineage.

Reared in the city’s Avondale (A-1) section, Street Lotto grew up surrounded by Hip-Hop and self-expression both directly and indirectly. Without a successful local rap musician to look to, Street Lotto was instantly inspired by nationally recognized artist, such as Snoop Dogg, Scarface, Jay Z, Biggie Smalls, Nas, 50 Cent and Eminem. In hindsight, Lotto now credits his father as a major influence. Since his father’s passing, Lotto started collecting his father’s journals and self-composed poetry. “My father was a lover of books and poetry. He kept a journal since he was a teenager. He was a definite influence in my rap career,” expresses Lotto.

Recognizing that there was little to no musical opportunities in Cincinnati, Lotto relocated to Atlanta Georgia and immediately started networking, grinding and making connections that would to lead to working with the rap’s world elite. In addition, Lotto had an invitation to travel to Los Angeles to work with Dogg Pound’s Daz Dillinger. As a result of his experiences in Cincinnati, Atlanta and Los Angeles, Street Lotto has developed a style that reminds you of both the struggles and victories in life.

Lotto is rhyming about enjoying the rewards of his hard work on the Dee Jay Dana produced cut “Grown Man.” Also, he displaying his unique swagger on the street heater “Dogg Headz”, which features West Coast veteran Dogg Pound member Daz Dillinger. “Dogg Headz was featured on Street Lotto’s 2010 debut LP, “Game & Fortune.” His debut album received rave reviews since it’s internet release. With the sign of approval by WDJP’s own DJ TRUUF, “Game and Fortune” hit the net with over 18,000 downloads with no promotion. The album featured appearances by 98 degrees band member Jeff Timmons for the track “As far As Eyes Can See,” R&B crooner Jarvis on “Why Wouldn’t I” and ” She’s A Winner.” In addition, Lotto is currently endorsed by ZOOZBEAT, the COCA COLA sponsored application for Apple’s Iphone.

Lotto continues his hard work in 2011 with his current music. “I am recording new music for my fans and to stay relevant in this changing music business. I’m originally from the midwest therefore, it’s only natural that I make music for people across the board to reach the masses, Hip-Hop is here to stay,” exclaims Lotto.

A-Block is the Co-Chief Executive Officer of Black City Hustla Records LLC and also is a musician based out of Germany. While growing up, music has always been apart of his life and will always be in it. His rap career was set to start, when he was rapping to one of his favorite songs, and a random guy attention was caught by A-Block’s skills. He told A-Block that his delivery was so great, that he should become a rapper. A-Block questioned himself and felt so confident that he started his journey to become one of the best musicians to come out of the Germany area.

Around late 2007, A-Block was on Myspace listening to songs and also networking with a few artist. He ran into another musician by the name of Joshua Davis (Tony Tone Montana). Him and Tony Tone talked for hours and formed a tight friendship, which led him a position in Black City Hustla Records LLC.

A-Block is on a mission for success and will not let nothing come in his way to get it. What sets him apart from other musicians, is that he brings not only his story to the game but also tell stories that his fans can relate. The songs that he produces, not only influences others to the point where they cry, but also to where they think that they are the ones who are spitting the lyrics. He also shows his sense of humor and is not afraid to show or tell what he is feeling. He writes music to express his feelings, in a positive way, instead of committing crimes.

In conclusion, A-Block hopes that his songs can help others, whenever they are feeling down, to let them know they’re not alone. He encourages everyone to be true to themselves and also if they have a dream, make them come to reality.

Dynomite Kid has been making a huge impact on the music scene in the south. His catchy records, passion and talent all make for an interesting artist. Although his music is nothing less than amazing, the man behind the beat is even more so.

Although you may know him as Dynomite Kid, his family and friends know him as “L-Jay”. Lajers Wheeler’s life began in Mullins, SC on September 1,1983. His childhood was complex. In the small town of Mullins where everybody knows everybody, his father was the main attraction. Although he was giving his family the good life by means of hustling, there were secrets inside their household. Lajers had a great father, but he was not a good husband. Infidelity and physical abuse got the best of his parents relationship. After the split of his mother and father at age 6, Lajers and his siblings moved to Hunstville, Alabama. Their now single mother was struggling to make ends meet, working 2-3 jobs at a time. Lajers and his small family bounced around from one project housing to the next. Although his life was crazy this obviously inspired Lajers because at the ripe age of 12, he began writing.

Throughout the years of trials and tribulations he learned that writing turned into more of a coping mechanism to release the stressors of daily life. Writing gave him a sense of freedom that he could not find anywhere else; a sense of sanity. Although this was an outlet, the stress was too much for this young dreamer. Between the divorce, moving, lack of financial support and dismissive father, by the age of 15 he was kicked out of the house, school and landed himself in prison by 17.

Although being sent to prison was a volatile time in his life, it did not stop him from getting knocked with another 3 year sentence just shortly after. During his time in prison he learned that all of his “mingling on the streets” was not worth it. Through family deaths and friends losing their lives, he had a bit of a wake up call. Even when everyone around him didn’t believe in him, his grandmother did. She never judged him for his past, all she wanted was for him to be successful and happy. Lajers used this as motivation to make it. Now that his grandmother is gone, he always remembers her inspiring words.

Music was always calling his name throughout those turbulent years. Dynomite Kid’s story is truly a testament to any young boy who is trying to follow their dreams.

Through his music, he wants to show the world that you can do what he did. “If you are still here today and you’ve been through anything, you can change and make a difference. Shake it off. I’m a criminal, it’s hard to get a job, I’m a felon, I know. It’s hard to do anything unless you make it yourself”, He says. He hopes that by sharing his story with young dreamers like he once was, that they can steer away from making mistakes ahead of time. “Being a thug is not what’s cool anymore”, he says. He has been through it, he knows where you have been and he knows how to get you out of it.

Throughout all of his struggles , successes and failures he has learned that life is too short and is now on a hell-bent mission to make it. With inspirations such as Wu-Tang Clan, Billy Ocean, Cameo and KRS One, you know his music has got to be a mix of greatness. Everything in his life from his children to his fans drives him to keep making great records. He will continue to use his music to inspire the ones who were alone just as he was at one time. Hopefully you can use Dynomite Kid’s music as your outlet.

Dynomite Kid has been making a huge impact on the music scene in the south. His catchy records, passion and talent all make for an interesting artist.

Born and raised in Long Island, New York where many hip hop pioneers have begun, has highly influenced my love of music. My stage name is Young Ray, and I have been in the music industry for five years so far, learning and obtaining knowledge to better myself with my career.

I began listening to “50 Cent”, “Eminem”, ”Young Jeezy”, and “Pretty Ricky”. Quickly inspired I began writing ideas down and working with making words rhyme. People then saw what my admiration was in life and turned away from me and hated the fact that I wanted to pursue music. I turned to music and writing as a way to fully express the emotions I felt. Writing poetry allowed me to show people what I am capable of doing and doing it in a positive way. Many people said what they felt with their negative opinions towards my decisions, but I didn’t allow it to bring me down. It actually gave me more motivation and more positive energy to prove everyone wrong.

When I graduated high school, I took my music to the next level. I began linking up with local artists feeling out new flows and learning new ways to approach the microphone. I then met B Divine, a producer, DJ, artist, and hip hop enthusiast. B Divine and I met at a local recording studio, and began working together each complimenting the other with our individual style of music. He introduced me on to the old school hip hop culture and opened me up to a new way of thinking. It was then that I began to collaborate with many artists of all different styles including hip hop legend, Tragedy Khadafi. I am featured on the mixtape from DJ Modesty overseas in France as well as a number of other mixtapes and have been featured on various radio shows throughout the U.S. I have been dedicating all of my time to writing, recording, and performing in order to pursue this dream, music has quickly become my life.

Since day one the progress has been nonstop, the learning experiences have boosted my ability to educate myself with a better knowledge of how to take on everyday obstacles in my life. Not only have I built a stronger mentality, but I have helped the few that stand strong by my side. I hope that in the future, I can reach out and help everyone that was once in my shoes. Let’s see where this path leads me.